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IPL crisis for Virat Kohli with RCB's fourth straight loss

Agencies
April 3, 2019

Jaipur, Apr 3: India's superstar captain Virat Kohli admitted that Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) fate in the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) looks "really bad" after his side crashed to their fourth straight defeat.

England's Jos Buttler made 59 and Rahul Tripathi hit the winning runs with a six from the penultimate ball as Rajasthan Royals made 164/3 to secure their first win of the season by seven wickets.

While India top the Test rankings and Kohli is the leading batsman, he looks increasingly frustrated at his side's Indian Premier League performances.

He has never won the IPL title and Bangalore are now rock bottom in the eight-team league -- the only outfit without a win.

Kohli bemoaned Bangalore's failure to set a more challenging target against Rajasthan as well as dropped catches in the field.

"If we make that many mistakes, then you are going to fall on the losing side," said Kohli after the game. "In a tournament like the IPL, when you have no momentum then these things can happen.

"The team hasn't got off to a good start and these things look really bad but we have to keep believing that we can turn things around."

Kohli acknowledged that the injury-hit team may need changes as he said: "We will sit down and talk to see how we can balance our team. Hopefully we will get fresh guys in and they can give a match-winning performance."

But Bangalore now need a radical improvement to reach the playoffs, and questions are already being asked about Kohli's leadership and the failure to get an IPL title in what is now the tournament's 12th season.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir said the India batting great was "very lucky" to be retained as captain by his franchise.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan ridiculed Bangalore's tactics.

"They look in shambles, the strategy they had pre-tournament has all been ripped. They are just picking tactics out of the hat as they go along," Vaughan told the Cricbuzz website.

Vaughan said IPL front-runners like reigning champions Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders stick to winning strategies.

Bangalore have ended the last two editions in sixth and eighth spot despite having top players like Kohli, South African AB de Villiers and the big-hitting Chris Gayle.

The side were undone by an umpiring error last week when Mumbai Indians paceman Lasith Malinga got away with a no-ball on the last delivery of the match with Bangalore needing six to tie.

The giant screen on the ground later showed Malinga overstepping the line and a fuming Kohli lashed out at the "ridiculous call" that cost his team a chance of victory.

But on Sunday they went down by 118 runs to Sunrisers Hyderabad in what Kohli called one of Bangalore's "worst losses ever".

"We were outplayed in all departments by a quality side," the Indian captain said after watching Jonny Bairstow hit 114 off 56 balls to guide Hyderabad to a stunning win.

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News Network
January 28,2020

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear that while they have no problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board hosting the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup -- set to be a preparatory ground for the T20 World Cup in Australia -- the venue needs to be a neutral one as travelling to the neighbouring country isn't an option at present.

Speaking to news agency, a BCCI official said that the hosting rights is not an issue and it is just a case of picking a neutral venue as the Indian team wouldn't be travelling to Pakistan for the T20 tournament that will see the top Asian teams in action.

"The question isn't about the PCB hosting the tournament. It is about the venue and as things stand now, it is quite clear that we would need a neutral venue. There is no way that an Indian team can visit Pakistan to even participate in a multi-nation event like the Asia Cup. If the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is ok with an Asia Cup minus India then it is a different ball game. But if India is to participate in the Asia Cup, then the venue cannot be Pakistan," the official said.

In fact, issues in obtaining visa for Pakistan players to come and play the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup in India was one of the major reasons why the tournament was shifted out of the country with BCCI hosting the event in UAE.

The official said that the PCB can do just the same and host the event in a neutral venue. "A neutral venue is always an option. BCCI did it in 2018," the official pointed.

Cricket returned to Pakistan after a decade when Sri Lanka toured the nation in 2019. While Sri Lanka was the first nation to play a full series in the country, Bangladesh is currently in the country as they just finished playing three T20Is. They will play a Test from February 7 to 11 and then play a one-off ODI before playing the second Test from April 5 to 9.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

Silverstone, Aug 2: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on Sunday won his seventh British Grand Prix title after a dramatic last-lap at the Silverstone Circuit.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas were at the first and second spot respectively until tyre drama struck.

Second-placed man Bottas was the first to suffer as his tyre deflated on lap 50, resulting in 11th place finish. Hamilton also suffered a similar issue before the final few seconds of the race.

However, with Max Verstappen having opted to pit a few laps from the end to try and claim the fastest lap, Hamilton had enough time in hand to just cross the line first, five seconds ahead of Verstappen and the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

McLaren's Carlos Sainz had been set to finish fourth, but his own last lap tyre issue saw him eventually come home P13, allowing Renault's Daniel Ricciardo to claim fourth, following a late pass on the sister McLaren of Lando Norris.

Renault's Esteban Ocon finished sixth, having enjoyed a race-long battle with Lance Stroll's Racing Point, with Pierre Gasly having enjoyed a fine race to finish seventh for AlphaTauri.

Alex Albon finished eighth for Red Bull, having recovered from a lap 1 tussle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that saw him fall to last, while Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10, Vettel holding off a late charge form the recovering Mercedes of Bottas.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Melbourne, Jan 23: Sania Mirza's return to her first Grand Slam after a two-year break was cut short on Thursday when the former world number one was forced to retire midway through her first round match in women's doubles at the Australian Open due to a calf injury.

India's Mirza, who won six Grand Slam doubles titles, took a break from the game after the China Open in October 2017 and gave birth to her son a year later.

The 33-year-old made a winning return to the WTA Tour at this month's Hobart International with Ukrainian Nadiia Kichenok, picking up her 42nd WTA doubles title and the first since winning the women's doubles in Brisbane in 2017.

Mirza said she strained her calf muscle in her right leg during the Hobart final.

"It just got worse in the match. It was bit of a bad strain, but I had a few days off," she told reporters. "So I obviously had to try to do whatever I could to try to get on the court.

"It felt okay when I went on the court, but it was tough to move right. I just felt like I'm gonna tear it or something pretty bad."

Mirza won her first Grand Slam in mixed doubles at the Australian Open in 2009 and also bagged the women's doubles in 2016.

Mirza always believed there was tennis left in her which inspired her comeback, she told Reuters on Sunday.

She had already pulled out of the Australian Open mixed doubles, where she was to partner compatriot Rohan Bopanna.

Mirza and Kichenok were trailing the Chinese pair of Xinyun Han and Lin Zhu 6-2 1-0 on Thursday when the Indian had to call it quits due to the injury.

"As a tennis player you want to compete, it is the Grand Slam. If it's any other tournament, you would probably take a call and be like 'I don't want to risk it'," she said.

Mirza, who is married to former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, said she would take two weeks to recover and was hoping to play at next month's Dubai championships.

"When you play a professional sport, injuries are really part of it. And it's something that you have to accept," she said. "Sometimes the timing is really not ideal, it's tough that it happened in a Grand Slam, or just before a Grand Slam."

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